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Pomacea insularum

ISLAND APPLE SNAIL

Not native to Florida

This South American native is now the largest non-marine snail in Florida. Initially identified - both by myself and many experts in the field - as Pomacea canaliculata (channeled apple snail). P. insularum (island apple snail) is now recognized as another, separate invasive species.
Island and channeled apple snails feed aggressively on aquatic and terrestrial plants and are a serious agricultural pest in rice-producing states.
Both of these invasives can be distinguished from the native apple snail by the deep groove or channel between whorls, and the larger bunches of smaller pink eggs. The native Florida apple snail lays clutches of less than a hundred eggs that are white to slightly pinkish and 3-6 mm in diameter. Island apple snails lay clutches of one to two thousand tiny pink eggs that may fade during the two to three weeks they take to hatch. Channeled apple snails are in between these species in both size and number, laying clutches of from 300 to 800 pink eggs.